In this special two-part conversation, Colin chats to sisters, Elaine Crewe and Sharon De Caesteker, the founders of Wellbeing4Life, who offer a range of holistic wellbeing services that encourage individuals and businesses to use creativity, courage and imagination in order to achieve happiness, health and joy.

In part one of the conversation, Elaine and Sharon discuss their backgrounds and purpose, the incredible healing power of laughter, the impact of culture on the wellbeing of the workforce, and how to implement changes that can empower your workforce into becoming a happier, more productive team.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Laughter releases endorphins, which immediately promote a better physical and emotional feeling. Laughter Yoga is the practice of encouraging our bodies to release these endorphins through practised laughter techniques.
• Changing your mind-set can be achieved through simple, incremental steps, such as changing your diet, your routine, and your exercise regime.
• So many people are attuned to society’s route through life. We choose a profession, work each day and potentially progress along that career path. By altering our mind-set, we can see the possibilities outside of this path through life, and hopefully endeavour to choose a more fulfilling journey.
• A healthy, happy workplace is a productive workplace. By ensuring that we lead from the top and identify our workplace culture, we increase engagement, creativity and motivation.
• Enhancing our workplace culture must never be approached as a box-ticking exercise. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. It needs to be a fluid, bespoke, and ever-evolving process of learning and adapting.
• Simple things, such as making sure take a proper lunch break, can increase productivity by a staggering 41%. We need to dismantle the notion that “powering through” is some kind of badge of honour, as not taking care of yourself can actually be detrimental to the entire company.
• Openness and honesty, coupled with connection, are the best ways to deal with overwhelm. We need to make sure that confidence is a value that’s held across the business in order to make this conversation possible.
• Companies thrive when they allow their staff to step up to the challenge. Trusting our workforce to do the best job possible is infinitely more empowering than treating them as subordinates.

BEST MOMENTS

‘I didn’t recognise the signs’

‘It’s transformed the way that we live, and we love seeing that transformation in our clients’

‘Wellbeing is all about experimentation’

‘It’s absolutely crazy to be still living with these archaic ways!’

’We do adapt and we do respond'

VALUABLE RESOURCES

The Interesting Health And Safety Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/training-competency-creating-effective-plan-process/id1467771449?i=1000452692837 

Wellbeing4Life - https://www.wellbeing-4-life.com/about-us/

Wellbeing4Life On Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Wellbeing4LifeUK/

ABOUT THE HOST

Colin Nottage

‘Making health and safety as important as everything else we do.’

This is the belief that Colin is passionate about and through his consultancy Influential Management Group (IMG) is able to spread into industry. Colin works at a strategic level with company owners and board members. He helps business leaders establish and achieve their health and safety ambitions.

He has developed a number of leading competency improvement programmes that are delivered across industry and his strengths are his ability to take a practical approach to problem-solving and being able to liaise at all levels within an organisation.

Colin also runs a company that vets contractors online and a network that develops and support H&S consultancies to become better businesses.

Colin chairs the Construction Dust Partnership, an industry collaboration directly involving many organisations, including the Health and Safety Executive.

He is a Post Graduate Tutor at Strathclyde University and a highly sought-after health and safety speaker and trainer. He has a Post Graduate Certificate in Safety and Risk management, an engineering degree and is a Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).